Quicksilver

I think that's true, I worked at a facility where they tried the LDRP thing. Ended up not working because some of the L&D and nursery staff refused to crosstrain to do postpartum. What we ended up with was a labor nurse taking care of the mom/baby through labor and recovery and then transferring her to a postpartum nurse. Nursery nurses, most of them NEVER came out of the nursery to do postpartum. And they didn't build enough LDRP rooms so when things got crazy, a mom who had been told she'd be able to stay in this NICE ROOM her whole stay got booted down the hall to a smaller hospital room like postpartum room to make way for laboring moms. People got really mad and didn't like it. I suppose it could have worked if everyone would have cooperated... but like most things they didn't :stone

Exactly Eastcoast! Makes me feel like my 13 years experience and all that money I spent on a BSN and now on a Master's NP program is just out the window! Why bother when you can go get a CERTIFICATE and DO THE SAME THING! Yeah, I'd want somebody with that level of education and experience taking care of me or my family, making all those vital decisions! In my opinion, there's no way a certificate program can replace all those years of real experience and education, I don't care if the person is an Einstein . They just don't have the background to be making those kinds of decisions. I also disagree with those programs that allow people to become NP's after a year as an RN and a couple of years in an NP program. Very foolish indeed! :angryfire

Canoehead, I feel for your situation. I've been a house supervisor for a little over a year and I know the crap people try to pull on you. It is admirable that you're willing to help out in a crunch, but I do think your being taken advantage of. I am certainly not against rolling up your sleeves and helping out if a unit is drowning. But I refuse to do the work of those who are too lazy to get off their butts, that's what they were hired to do, take care of the patients! They have their job and I have mine. I look at it this way, helping outs fine, but I have to be available to the WHOLE HOUSE. I always tell the staff, I'll help out but when another unit or the ER calls and needs something, I have to help them out as well. I refuse to get tied up on a floor just so someone can sit at the desk and eat and yak or go take a nap somewhere! A float nurse for the house is great, when you can get one! She/he can float and do all those little tasks that the floors need help with,meds, admissions and such. I would certainly bring the subject up. Hope your situation improves!

To answer your question, for me , Yes. I got my ASN thirteen years ago. For me it was the fastest way to get into the field, the community college was close, nearest BSN program was a 90 mile drive. I needed to get my RN so I could help get hubby through engineering school. After that was done and he was working, I decided to go back for my BSN, in fact I'm graduating in May. For me it allowed me to get different jobs in management, I wanted to branch out and try other areas of nursing besides just being at the bedside. Some nurses wouldn't do anything else, me I did it for a few years and decided my nerves and my back had had enough. Have toyed with the idea of going on for the master's but not going to do it right now. If anyone had a choice between the two, I'd say go for the BSN because a lot of jobs are requiring that more and more. I just say it gives me "flexibility". I had a coworker who got injured and was wondering if she could keep working or if they could find another job besides floor work for her. She'd always thought the ADN was all she would ever need. Don't want to start up the ADN vs BSN war again but sometimes it's good to have options.

Really makes me mad how whiney and childish some people can get when they don't get to smoke. I've taken care of a few just like the one described. In horrible, awful pain, just eating the nacotics, but boy they could get up and run outside for a smoke! I used to smoke when I was younger and I'm glad I gave it up! What nicotine makes people do. We used to get the docs to prescribe patches for a lot of them, for some it worked and others, no deal, had to have that cigarette! I think they shouldn't allow smoking in any healthcare facility, it's a little hypocritical to say we are looking out for the health of patients and let them do something that is harmful. Quitting smoking is tough but eventually you get over it, now I can't even stand the smell when someone else smokes around me. Makes me gag!

Hey everybody! Didn't mean to get everyone's(ahem-panties in a bunch!) with that statement. I got pretty much the response I expected. Hey I have nothing against women-I AM ONE! I know that there are guys that are b****ier by far than any woman. I was just speaking from MY experiences, I'm sure there are others that have had entirely different ones. No, we obviously can't blame all nursing's problems on women, but we need to look at the way we act toward each other, maybe that's why nursing has so many problems. We need to get together and work as a unified group, putting all that energy toward attacking the problems facing the profession, not each other. That was really my point......

Laura, You're 19 right? The nice thing about nursing is that you can work when you want to-if you want to take off for a while when you have kids, you can always go back later. And what if you find yourself with 2-3 kids down the line and something happens to the husband? At least you will have a skill that will get you a job you can live on. I never regretted going to nursing school and neither has my husband(I had to support us a few times when his job went away) And nothing says you have to spend your entire career in the hospital, I started out working in the hospital but eventually switched to supervision and just changed jobs to become a case manager for a hospice. Nursing is a big field, some nurses work in hospitals because of the money or they just want to. But it's not the same for everyone. Some husbands have trouble with their wife going to nursing school, I had a friend whose husband kept saying "Your going to find some doctor and leave me" (She did, but not for a doctor) while she was in school. A lot of the time they change their tune by graduation and start realizing there will be more money coming in the door! Good luck!

Thank you steph for that. Speaking as someone from the other side( I wasn't a manager but a supervisor) it's true that there are both good managers/supervisors and really bad ones. Making blanket statements about ALL administrators is not good. I beleive any manager/supervisor who favors docs or administration over the nurses on the floor has no business in that job. After all, administration should be there to SUPPORT the staff, without the nurse at the bedside, we'd be no where. Give the ones who DO try to help make things better for the nurses a little credit.

IMHO it has to do with nursing still being a predominately female profession. I read somewhere that one big difference between men and women is that men are naturally "team players" where women are more into themselves . I know that doesn't apply to everyone but in general. I think we really need more men in the nursing profession to help even things out. Having a bunch of hormonal,stressed out women working together is pure hell. I know I've worked on units where you thought the nurses were going to scratch each other's eyes out. On units where there was a mix of male and female nursing staff, people worked together better. Things are changing but we've still got a way to go. Somebody's probably going to attack me for this one, but it's just the way I see things.

I used to work on a unit that was a combination postpartum/GYN and med surg unit. The standing rule was "nothing draining or infectious" and usually the same nurse didn't take care of postpartum moms and med surg patients. As for a nurse taking the medical patients, we all did it on a regular basis so we were comfortable with it. But I know some places have just postpartum units that don't regularily take medical patients. I say if the nurse is not comfortable taking a certain type of patient, they shouldn't. But thats the ideal, not the real world. I think it comes to standing up and not doing something potentially unsafe. After all, if you take the assignment and something happens, it's your fanny in the wringer, not your manager! It's bull that nurses should be able to handle ALL areas of nursing. Things are too specialized, maybe way back when it was true, but not now. I wouldn't dare take care of a ICU patient or ask a ICU nurse to take care of my postpartum mom and baby!! I agree that's why theres a shortage, people are getting tired of the crap they get from management. Good luck

My husband's been over there since last May, hope to get him back in April or May of this year. He's in the Army, working in Baghadad Did get to see him for about 2 weeks at Christmas, got along pretty good. But he is sick of Iraq and wants to come home!! A year apart is a long time. I know there will probably be some transition but hopefully won't be too bad, we went through a nine month stint in Bosnia in 97 and that was awful!! Hopefully this time it will be a better homecoming. The military has a way of getting to people, being over there is tough if you don't normally have to put up with it everyday(reserves)

Sounds like the nurse was in a hurry and didn't want to waste time teaching the mom what to do.. I was a postpartum nurse for 11 years and I used to see older nurses do stuff just like what you described. It was clear they were in a hurry and just didn't want to take time to show the new mom how to do it and let her practice it. The facility I worked at had a full time RN Lactation Education nurse that spent 8-9 hours a day just helping moms get breastfeeding right! You can literally spend HOURS with one mom who is having problems, just getting the baby to latch properly! Breastfeeding is often difficult for some mothers and even the ones that do well need patcience at the beginning! Every one is diifferent. Sorry you had to see that but that kind of stuff is still out there. Hopefully you will get to work again with someone who can take the time to help the mom do it and not just rush through it.

I know what you mean. I don't work in an office but the hospital ER where I work was crowded almost every night for the last two weeks with flu victims. The health dept here was flooded with people wanting flu shots for their kids after a 20 month old died from it. Now I can't find anywhere to get shots for my two teenagers, the clinics and everywhere they were giving them out is out of vaccine(including the place I work for) I was stupid, kind of poo-pooed it. Didn't think there would be much from it... just like last year. Then BOOM... it hit. Am just hoping some more vaccine will be available. So far nobody has gotten really sick in our house. My daughter got that stomach flu twice but is okay. I got my flu shot from work before the rush started . Just didn't realize that it would get this bad.....

As one who has almost completed a BSN after 12 years as an ADN I can say two things contributed to my moving into a better(different) job. #1 The fact that I am completing my BSN certainly helped me gain my current supervisory job. #2 Going to a new facility that valued the education and was willing to give me a chance. The hospital I worked for for 10 years wouldn't even consider me eligible for a position in management. I had been there since graduation from school and they never saw me as being capable of anything but floor nursing. I applied for an open position and they laughed at me. My current facility hired me right off the bat and have had no problems at all!! The more education certainly helps but sometimes it's the place itself:rolleyes:

Great post! I used to have a boss that I can best describe as a combination of #1 . Real fun to work with. I can remember working with people like #3 and #4 as well. I currently have a co-worker that perfectly fits the #3 description, just about all of us in the dept want to strangle her! She can be bothered to do her job since she's so busy flirting or doing her nails or having her latest nervous breakdown over her ex leaving her(seems she might have brought it on herself?). You have to really watch out for the #4 types, when things are going well they are "miss perfect" but if you cross them I have heard things come out of their mouths that would make a longshoreman blush!! Then they go for your throat! Fun world we live in !!!:roll